Amazing Race!

Oh my goodness guys, I just got home from my first 10K and I can not get the smile off of my face! That was one of the best experiences of my life! I was so proud of myself for finishing. Last night, they had said that it was supposed to be cold and rainy all day today. I kept thinking "oh man, I just wanna sleep in and wake up nice and warm and sit around sipping my coffee." But I just kept telling myself that life is all about stepping out of your comfort zone, because sure I would have been WAY more comfie laying around in PJs sipping coffee all morning...but then what have I accomplished?! NOTHING! This was such a huge accomplishment for me, just knowing that I was healthy enough to do this and that my body was strong enough now. I was tearing up at the end because it was that amazing! It ended up pouring the rain the whole time and being about 45 degrees. But, Im so glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone and did something that made me feel proud of myself! I even made a better time than I was expecting.

I clocked in at 1:01:35!!

Here is my half eaten pre-run fuel:

Wheat Toast with Peanut Butter and Banana

Before Pic

The starting line, courtesy of the Sis.

Blog Butt Shot #3. haha. Thats me in the gray pants in the corner!

After Shot.

My number one running tip?...Waterproof Mascara! haha. I looked in the mirror after I had finished and my face was a MESS! hey, you live and you learn.

Also, I have to tell you guys that I was feeling the blogger love the whole time! First look what came last night...JUST IN TIME!

The PERFECT thing to receive on the eve of my first race:

My water bottle from the lovely and awesome Emily! Thanks Emily, I definitely put it to good use today, and thought of you the whole time :)

Then, first thing this morning I woke up to the most encouraging and touching e-mail, from the beautiful Sam. It really got me revved up to get out of bed and get going! And lastly, I listened to the mix that included some of the songs that you girls suggested, and that really got me through the race! So, thank you everyone for your tips, good-lucks, and just being generally kick-ass peeps with your love and support! I am so lucky to a part of this awesome community of bloggers!

Lots of Love <3 Ems.

DO DO You Got a First Aid Kit Handy?!

But really?! Anyone?! Or at least know how to give a good massage, because I think my legs MAY just fall off at any second. Whew! Those two days of running 6 straight miles are killing me! I decided to take it easy today because I do not want my legs to be hurting this bad on Saturday, so I just did an easy 3 miles today and some on the eliptical. Tomorrow is my rest day, so I dont plan on running at all so that my legs can have a rest.

SO excited to get THIS today:

#217 baby! Im starting to think that I'm in over my head though. Last night I was talking to a friend whose wife is running the race just as training for a TRIATHLON! And then when I went to pick up my number today I started talking to another girl who looked about my age who was running it to. She asked if this was my first 10K and I said yes. I, in turn, asked if it was hers as well and she said "yes, its my first 10k". Automatically I assumed that she had probably ran a 5K before and that this was her first 10K, but no no no...she just ran a marathon. hmmmm oh well, as long I complete it I will be happy, Im not going to worry about pushing myself too hard for a great time. Ive got nothing to prove to anyone but myself, and I just want to have fun doing this!

So after the gym I came home and ate lunch. I have been soooo hungry since running everyday. Its weird because I'm not technically burning as many calories, but I feel like I get so much more of a workout (and I def. sweat ALOT more!). haha. I wasnt really sure what I was hungry for though...so I just stuck to the usual wrap.

• Italian Herb Flat Out Wrap
• Red Pepper Hummus (mixin it up from the garlic)
• Deli Sliced Turkey
• Salsa
• Cucumber (you guys dont even wanna know how I initially had this spelled...lets just say it was slightly dirty!)
• Spinach
• Spicy Mustard
• With a Granny:

I decided that I needed to balance all this fruit out with some veggies. So I added some broccoli and celery with a side of salsa for dipping.

I always use the most random things to put food in. My apples are in a coffee cup and my salsa is in the lid to a jar :) Hey, if the food fits...

After lunch I went to pick up my race goodies and then to the FREE tanning bed. Oh, how I am lovin the free cancer in a box. I know, its horrible. I need to stop...I just need the real sun to come quick! After tanning I headed to work at the mall for a few. I had the most touching moment with my manager. She knew me when I was right in the midst of my ED and she watched me go through recovery. She was a HUGE support and still tells me almost everyday how good I look now and how proud she is of me. Anyways, she was asking me some questions about what I went though (which I have no problem talking about with her) when all of sudden she just stopped and said "I just have to give you a hug and let you know how proud I am of you, I was really scared for you when I first met you, and you have come such a long way since then". I almost started tearing up! I know its a long hard road, and I would be kidding myself and everyone else if I said that I was 100% now, but I know that I will get there and I see changes everyday that get me closer and closer to my goal.

Ok so after work I came home and made up a veggie burger. At the last minute I decided that it might be good with some cheese on it, so I threw it on top of the burger while it was on the grill. Boy, did I regret that decision. The cheese got wayyyy to melty and the burger was almost too messy to even eat! Well, ALMOST...I did manage, of course ;)

• Morningstar Veggie Burger Patty
• Arnolds Sandwich Thin
• Spinach
• Sprout
• Mustard
• Ketchup
• American Cheese Slice

With a beautiful salad on the side:

Now it time to get ready for bed. I have to SUB in Kindergarten at 730 AM tomorrow. Keep me in your prayers...its 5 year olds + Friday the 13th + the friday before their spring break = umm you do the math!

I hope everyone has a great Friday...any fun plans?!

Lots of Love <3 Ems.

Pump, Pump, Pump It Up

Today was day two of trying out the running 6 miles thing, and I actually surprised myself again! I was looking forward to trying again all night last night and I woke up this morning ready to go! When I got to the gym, I saw an old friend and she said that she might do the race with me too, so that was exciting. Anyway, I managed to do six miles straight without walking, but at kind of a slow pace. I completed the six miles in about 80 min. But, like many of you have advised me to do, I'm not gonna worry about my time so much (I mean this is my first race) and just have fun and do it for the experience. I also have taken all of your advice and decided that its probably not the best idea to push myself to do six miles everyday up until the race, so I'm just gonna do a light run tomorrow and then probably just rest on Friday. Im also in the process of making a music mix for the run too. I took RunningLaur's advice and started with some slow music, but its a work in progress right now.

Everyone help out...What is your favorite song/songs to work out/run to. Maybe I could make a "blogger work-out mix CD" .

Another thing that I am LOVING is how running as my primary source of exercise makes me feel. I'm not sure if I have addressed this before, but in the midst of my ED I was working out ALL THE TIME, sometimes I would be in the gym twice a day. I was strictly working out to burn off calories, and I would not leave the gym until I had burned off almost every thing that I had eaten. Even today, when I workout on the eliptical or the other thing-y I do pay attention to how many calories I am burning over most everything else. Usually I try to burn a certain amount of calories before I will leave (of course I eat enough to make up for it now, unlike before) However, I know that this is not a healthy approach to exercise. Anyway, the point of that is today and yesterday when I was running I didnt even hardly look at the calories that I was burning, because I was more concentrated on the mileage. I realized half-way through my run yesterday that I had not even glanced at the calories I had burned and I just got the biggest smile on my face. FINALLY, I am doing something because I enjoy it, and because it makes me feel good. Not because I feel like I HAVE to burn a certain amount of calories. And even though I dont burn as many calories running as I do doing other things, I FEEL so much better and my body feels GOOD! I feel like this is just one more point in my recovery that I am about to hit. Girls, it is hard! Even though I have gained the weight back, I still struggle (I'm not gonna lie and act like my recovery is 100% now) You guys know that it is not all just the weight, it is changing the way you think. And it soooo hard to change when you have so much knowledge of calories, and food, and things like that. Slowly but surely I am getting there, and this is just proof. The past couple of days that I have been running I feel so healthy and happy. I feel more proud of my body now because it is in shape not skinny...and I'll take a muscular, womanly body over a stick thin little girl's body any day!

Wow! what a rant, I usually try to avoid those, but I just had to tell you guys about this turning point in my recovery. I hope it will continue to grow!

When I came home from my run I WAS HUNGRY and I was kinda craving something sweet. So I had my usual, but still yummy grilled PB&J. I wanted to do something different this time, just for kicks. So I added some nice big juicy blueberries on top of my 'Nanner.

I also tried out my new Oikos Vanilla Greek Yogurt:

This is the same flavor that my sister reviewed yesterday. I added some strawberries and blueberries to make it fruit-ier.

Why would my camera not focus?!! grrrr.

Oh my, just look at that gooey peanut butter and the warm melty blueberries. OH-SO-GOOD!

At the last minute I decided to go ahead and plate it up with some cantaloupe. Is it possible to eat too much fruit?! haha.

Now Im gonna surf some blogs and get some ideas for din din. Thanks for all the support and advice about the run. Anymore is totally welcome, I love hearing all the advice from you guys (I really admire all of you!). And dont forget to tell me your fave workout song/songs. I really am gonna make a blogger mix! Maybe distribute them?!

Hope everyone has a wonderful night! Lots of Love, <3 Ems.

First 10K!

Ok, so I had been debating on whether or not to run this 10K race in my city for MONTHS. I have always loved running, but have never been that great at endurance, so I was afraid that I would make a fool of myself if I tried it. I had pretty much given up on the idea (out of shear fear of embarrassment) until today. I was at the gym and after doing my usual 35 minutes on the eliptical, I was in a running mood so I hoped on the treadmill. I decided to see if I could do at least three miles which is a little less than half of a 10K race. I didnt really think that I would be able to make it while running the whole time, but to my surprise when I hit 3 miles I felt like I could keep going! I ended up running 4 miles at a pace of about 12 minutes a mile. After that I sort of walked/jogged the other two miles. But I totally impressed myself doing this! I ran 6 miles in about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Im not sure if that is good or bad, but its not too bad when I didnt even think I could do it all! I was SOAKED with sweat and felt like a toal bad ass! haha. When I got home I decided to look up the details just to check it out, and it said the day to register was TODAY! I figured it was a sign, so I just did it! So, final point of that long story: I AM RUNNING A 10K ON SATURDAY!

please anyone with any tips/advice/anything useful, please hit me up!

The race is called "Chasing Snakes" and St. John's Episcopal Church is donating all of the proceeds from the race to Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN), a network of churches and community agencies in the Johnson City area who coordinate to provide support for homeless families. The map of the race looks really cool. You can look at it here. I am so excited because this is somthing that I have always wanted to do, and it will be a huge accomplishment when I do finish it. WISH ME LUCK GUYS!

For lunch today I fixed up a quick wrap:

I decided to be experimental today and slice up some cucumber to throw in there as well. I didnt think it would make that much of difference, but let me tell you...it MADE the wrap! It was so good with the cucumber added in.

My roommate had bought some pudding cups and I just couldnt help but have one for dessert, with a little whipped cream on top :)

I plan on running the 6 miles on the treadmill everyday up until then, and I'm gonna drive through the trail tomorrow, to see how it is. Im hoping I can make it a little faster tomorrow. Ill keep you guys updated! Now, I hear my rommate laughing hysterically at The Office, so I think I'm gonna go join her! haha.

Hope everyone had a great day! Lots of Love <3 Ems.